I believe I know the answer to this rant, but what I don’t understand is why you didn’t take the time to use this opportunity to remind people who might not know the answer which is the best time to water. That’s why I read this. I wanted to make sure I was right.

There has been a constant, slow leak at the intersection of Chartres and Binz for almost a year now. It may be the responsibility of the city or it may be the responsibility of the Plaza apartment building owners. Since I’ve seen evidence of digging there outside of the fence, I suspect the city has already investigated the leak. But since it’s still leaking, it’s likely the responsiblity of the building owner.

I water in the dark these days (starting at 9pm). The mosquitoes are rough, but it’s worth the savings on my water bill, since the water goes much farther at that time. It’ll rain again one day…those rainy Houston summers seem like a distant memory, but they were very real.

OK, you gripe about when NOT to water, but say nothing about the “right time” to water. The title of the article implies we will learn something, but alas we just get a rant. I guess you want us to buy the book?

If you’re watering with a hose, the earlier the better. 6 a.m. is better than 7 a.m. 8 a.m. is better than 10 a.m.

But the reality is, the “best” time is when you have the time to do it and when it hasn’t rained in a long time.

If that doesn’t appeal, remember, a little water at the wrong time is better than no water at alll.

This might surprise you, but a great time to water is right before a rain. Just water around your prize plants. There is a certain amount of surface tension on the top of soil that actually repels water at first. The weight of the water has to break through that tension. So if you get out and water well before a rain, the rainwater won’t be wasted running off until the soil surface tension is breached. The rich rainwater (the very best for your plants) will immediately go down deeper than it would if you hadn’t watered.

Your right. Unless someone takes the time to speak up it will continue. In my neighborhood, Fort Bend, I see people watering lawns from noon till sundown all the time. I look and wonder if they have any clue on how much water they’re wasting.

“That other 25% (if it’s even that high) will sit on the plant leaves subjecting them to even more sunburn than they would have suffered had they gotten no water at all.”
.
Rubbish. The notion that a drop of water acts like a magnifying lens and can “burn” grass is ridiculous. Do you realize how hard it is to burn grass with a lens when actually trying? Add to that the fact that the water drops and the grass blades are all randomly-oriented, the odds of getting the proper focus of light to burn grass is extremely low. Otherwise, why not advise people to cover their lawns during brief rain showers?

Also, I challenge the notion of 75% evaporation with humidities as high as we see in Houston, along with typically low wind speeds.

How do know there wasn’t a recent power failure or something else that had the timers on at this time of day? Maybe they just repaired them and were testing them. Sounds like overreaction by a bunch of busy bodies. You get the “Slug” award for making assumptions. Good advice on watering but jumping to conclusions and insulting people in general is poor journalism.

“With a temperature of 103, at least 75% of that water is going to be lost to evaporation.

That other 25% (if it’s even that high) will sit on the plant leaves subjecting them to even more sunburn than they would have suffered had they gotten no water at all.”
.
The above is mis-information. See instead: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae048.
.
Also, as I stated yesterday in the post that never got published, the odds of water droplets acting as magnifying lenses and burning grass are insanely low. It’s hard enough to burn a blade of grass with a lens when actually trying to do so.